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The Groove

The greatest avant-garde artists of all time

52 artists ranked by the Groove — music.nw’s own measure of renown. Not an opinion, a fact computed from the record. Why?

CB
No. 1

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1965–1982 · experimental rock
2.686
Why this number?
The full board
2 Kraftwerk Germany flagGermany · 1970– · electronic 2.672
3 Radiohead United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1991– · alternative rock 2.377
4 Arcturus Norway flagNorway · 1990– · progressive metal 2.276
5 Coil United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1982–2004 · experimental 1.928
6 David Bowie United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1947–2016 · rock 1.745
7 Frank Zappa United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1940–1993 · rock 1.591
8 Einstürzende Neubauten Germany flagGermany · 1980– · industrial 1.440
9 SOPHIE United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1985–2021 · deconstructed club 1.367
10 The Mothers of Invention United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1964–1975 · rock 1.366
11 Philip Glass United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1937– · classical 1.350
12 Ye United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1977– · hip hop 1.185
13 Björk Iceland flagIceland · 1965– · electronic 1.100
14 The Residents United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1966– · experimental 1.066
15 Miles Davis United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1926–1991 · jazz 1.050
16 Boards of Canada United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1986– · electronic 0.972
17 Magma France flagFrance · 1969– · zeuhl 0.956
18 This Heat United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1975–1982 · experimental rock 0.846
19 Animal Collective United States of America flagUnited States of America · 2000– · neo-psychedelia 0.818
20 The Velvet Underground United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1964–1996 · art rock 0.792
21 King Crimson United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1968–2021 · progressive rock 0.738
22 Kate Bush United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · 1958– · art rock 0.709
23 Tom Waits United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1949– · rock 0.703
24 Eric Dolphy United States of America flagUnited States of America · 1928–1964 · avant-garde jazz 0.703